Parachute.



A. HANSON.

PARACHUTE.

H APPLICATION FILED APR.30.1911. v 1,244,129; Patented (m. 23,1912. J 2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Jay; 7 17- HRHNSO'H Gttow e1 same.

U TED STATES PATENToFFioE.

ADOLPI-I RANsoIv, or soon: CHARLESTON, wnsr VIRGINIA, ASS'IGNOIR, or ONE-HALF TO STAUNTON ISA-AC, OF SOUTH CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA.

I'ARAoHurE,

Specification of' fl'zetgers Patent. Pa,i ented Oct; 23; 191% Application filea a' rn so, 1917, Serial no. 165,532.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known-that I, AnoLPH RAIi-soN,a citizen of the United States, residing at South Charleston, in the. county of Kamwha, State-of West Virginia, have invent- .ed a new and useful Parachute; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains'to make-and use the clear, and exact description 0 The Presentinvention relatest'o' a life savmg parachute. for the :use ofa'viat'ors, and has for its-objectto provide adeviceof this character which embodies novel'features of construction whereby an avlatorj may be assured of "a safe'descent to the ground in the I event of'amishap or accident.

Further objects of, the. invention are to provide a life saving parachute of this character which is comparatively simple andini- I expensive in -its construction, which canbe without any inconvenience -or discomfort, which will automatically become distended and expanded into operative position in the i event of the-aviator being thrownfromthe machine, andwhich will cause the aviator .shoulder harness.v

to drop in an uprightposition with his head and shoulders uppermost.

With these and other obj acts in view, the invention consists in; certain novel combi nations and arrangements of theparts as will more fully appear as the description. proceeds, the novel features thereof being" pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following. descripion and accompanying drawings, in which c Figure 1 is a front elevation of a parachute constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the same as fully expanded in operative position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectionalview through the same;

f Fig. 3 is a side view of an aviator provided with the parachute, the latter being -shown in a collapsed condition.-

Fig. 4. is an enlargedside elevation of the Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the same. i Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of one of the leg bands.

Corresponding and'like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated'in ally the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

In attaching the parachute to the body of an aviator, a shoulder harness is employed.

This. shoulder harness is shown as including a band 1 which encircles the body of the I I may be provided,- if desired, and the body encirclingband 1 is split so that it can be contracted or expanded as may be necessary to fitthe particular aviator. The ends of the-split band "1 at-the back of the 'aviator are shown .as formed with out- St'aI1dI'lng ears 4 1 which are connected by apin 5, the end of the-pin being threaded to receive a thumb nut 6 which can "be manipulated to adjust the size of the band as'required. The reel 7 is 'journaled upon the pin 5'between the ears 4, and a coil spring 8 is arranged within the reel and operatively connected thereto for-rotating the latter-to wind a cable 9 thereon, in a mannerand for a purpose to be hereinafter described. r

A lower and relatively small parachute 10 .is applied to the body encircling band 1 so as to hang therefrom and normally. fold or collapse against the body of the aviator, as

indicated by Fig. 3. The edge portions of the lower parachute- 10 are connected by cords 11 to leg bands 12 which are applied to the legs of the aviator, preferablyat a point just below the knees as indicated more-clearly by.Fig.,1. These leg bands may be formed of any suitable material, and are shown as beingadjustable by means of buckles :13.

Immediately -to the rear of the shoulder engagingharness the lower fabric parachute 10 is formed with an opening Which contimunicates with an upwardly extending fabric air tube'or conduit 14; This air conduit 14 iscollapsible so that it can be folded in,

'a small amount of space when not in use, al-

though when the lower parachute 10 is dis tended and in operative-position -it will be obvioustthat the rapid-passage of air upwardly through the conduit l4.-wi ll main-' tain the same in. a distended position, as indicated by Fig. 2. A ring 15 of aluminum or other suitable material is slidably mounted u on the air conduit 14. so as to be movr able up and down thereon. This ring 15 is connected by cords 16 to the periphery of an upper and larger parachute 17 which is vide the main supporting means when the device 1s in use.

A small central opening 17 is preferably provided at the middle of the upper parachute 1'7, although this opening is not sufficiently large to interfere with the efficiency of the parachute. The sliding ring 15 is suitably connected by means of the diverging branch cables 9 to the upper end of the before mentioned cable 9 which is adapted to be normally wound upon the spring actuated reel 7. Preparatory to col lapsing the parachute the sliding ring 15.is moved downwardly to the lower end of the air conduit 14, the cable 9 being automatically wound upon the reel 7. The upper parachute 17 and air conduit 14 can then be folded together and compactly rolled-into a bundle B adapted to fit against the back, as indicated by Fig. 3. Everything remains loose, however, so that in the event of a sudden and unexpected fall from the airship the lower parachute 10 would expand. and cause a flow of air upwardly through the conduit 14 such as would expand the conduit and also cause the upper parachute 17 to be expanded. The ring 15 would rise gradually upon the, conduit 14: until the cable 9 was completely unwound from the reel 7. The cable 9 would then act as a stop to hold the ring 15 in position.

. A vane C is mounted upon the shoulder harnessv and constructed to swing automatically into operative position when the aviator drops from his seat, and cause him to descend in an upright position with his head and shoulders uppermost. This vane includes side bars 18 which'diverge from each other and have their lower ends hingedly connected at 20 to the top of the shoul- 'der straps 2. The side bars 18 are connected.

by a thickness21 of flexible fabric which is adapted to flex and yield as may berequired to conform to the shape of. the body when swun downwardly, but which will ofler a SllfilClGIlt resistance to the air when the vane.

is projected vertically upward from the shoulders to insure that the aviator will descend in an upright position. Springs 22 are applied to the hinge connections 20 between the ends of the bars 18 and the shoulder straps 2, said springs normally tending to swing-the vane upwardly into an upright position, although the vane is foldable rearwardly against the action of the springs.

Shoulders 23 limit the forward swinging and permitted to swing upwardly. Th ide bars 18 of the vane are curved or deflected outwardly 'at a point toward the pivot ends thereof, as indicated at 19, thereby providing a clearance space for the reception of the rolled bundle B when the upper parachute 17 and air conduit 14 are collapsed and the vane C swung 'rearwardly and downwardly into inoperative position. As

indicated by Fig. 3,'the side bars 19 then extend downwardly along opposite sides of the'body of the aviator, so that when the aviator is in flight he will be sitting upon the fabric portion '21 of the vane, thereby holding the vane downwardly against the action of the springs 22. The upper parachute 17 and air conduit 14 will then be rolled to form the bundle B, while the. lower parachute 10 will be collapsed in themanner of a skirt against the body ofthe aviator. The parachute will not interfere 'in any manner with the freedom of movement of the aviator, although if he should 'be unexpectedly thrown from his seat the vane'C will be immediately swung upwardly into operative position by the springs 22, thereby causing him to return to anupright position even though he may have been initlally thrown head foremost. The lower parachute 10 will then expand into operative position, whereupon the air pressure at the top thereof will cause the bundle B to unroll and the air conduit 'l l become distended. The passage of air through this air conduit will act upon the upper parachute 17 to dis- 100 tend the latter. This upper parachute 17, together with the ring 15v will rise slowly and unwind the cable 9 from the spring actuated reel 7 until the cable is completely unwound from the reel and the ring reaches the upper limit of its movement. The parachute will then be completely distended and in operative position so that the aviator will descend slowly and be enabled to reach the earth in safety. It will be obvious that the device can be worn without any discomfort and without interfering in any manner with the necessary freedom of movement of the aviator, and the construction is such that the parachute will be automatically distended without any manipulation or preparation on the part of the aviator, thereby. insuringa safe descent even though he may meet with an unexpected accident and be thrown from the machine without warning. .When the aviator is walking upon the ground, the

vane C will be held in inoperative position by suitable straps 25. These straps, however, will be unfastened, When he takes his position in an airship preparatory to making a flight, thereby leaving the vane C free to be swung upwardly into inoperative position should the aviator be thrown from his seat.

Having thus described the invention, what v v duit extending parachute, an

parachute arranged above the air conduit so wardly through the same.

I claim as new and ters Patent, is-:' I v 1. A device of thecharacter described, in-

desire to secure by Let ,cludl'ng a body encircling band, a lower collapsible fabric parachute pendent from the meeting the leg bands to the lower parachute, an upper collapsible fabric parachute, an air conduit extending upwardly from the lower parachute, a ring surrounding the air conduit, and cords connecting the ring to the upper parachute.

3. A device of the character described, in-

' cluding a body encircling band, a-lowe'r collapsible fabric parachute pendent from the body encircling band, leg bands, cords connecting the leg bands to the lower parachute, an air conduit extending upwardly from the lower parachute, a ring slidable upon the air conduit, stop' means for limiting the sliding movement of the ring, an

upper parachute, and cords connecting the Y ring to the upper parachute.

4. A device of the character described, including a body encircling band, a lower collapsible fabric parachute pendent from the body encircling band, leg bands, cords connecting the leg bands to the lower para-' chute anair conduit extending upwardly from the lower parachute, a ring slidable upon the air conduit, a stop cord for limiting the upward movement of the ring,'a reel for holding the slack of the'stop cord, an;

upper parachute, and cords connecting the ring to the upper parachute.

5. A device of the character described, including a body incircling band, a lower collapsible fabric parachute pendent from the body encircling band, leg bands, cords connecting the leg bands to the lowerp'ar'achute, a collapsible fabric air conduit extending upwardly from the lower parachute,

an upper collapsible fabric parachute adapt ed to be arranged above the air conduit when in operative position, a ringslidable upon the air conduit, stop means for limiting the upward sliding movement of the ring, and cords connecting the ring to the upper parachute.

6."A device of the character described, including a split body encircling band having outstanding ears at the ends thereof, a pin connecting the ears, a nut threaded upon the pin for cooperation therewith to adjust the effective size of the body encircling band, a reel mounted upon the pin, a collapsible parachute, and a cable operatively connected to the collapsible parachute and adapted to *the same, a ring slidable upon the air conduit, cords connecting the ring to the upper 7 parachute, and a stop cable connected to the ring and adaptedto be wound upon the be fore mentioned reel.v

58. A device of the character described, including shoulder harness, a vane hingedly connected to the shoulder harness and adapted to-fold against the body, means for projecting the vane upwardly when released, and a collapsible parachute member operatively connected to the shoulder. harness. and adapted to be held in a collapsed condition by the vane. when the latter is swung into inoperative position.

9, A device of the character described, including a shoulder harness, a vane hingedly connected to the shoulder harness and adapted to fold against the body, means for projecting the vane upwardly when released, a lower collapsible parachute applied to the; shoulder harness, a collapsible air conduit extending upwardly from the lower 1* parachute, an'upper collapsible fabric parachute adapted to be arranged above the air chute and air conduit being adapted to be engaged in a collapsed condition'by the vane -when the latter is folded against the body.

10. A device of the character described, in cluding shoulder harness, a vane including side bars hingedly secured to the shoulder harness and connected by fabric, the vane being adapted to be swun'g downwardly with the side bars on opposite sides of the body of the aviator, means forprojecting the side bars upwardly when released, and a parachute operatively connected to the shoulder harness.

11. A device of the character described, including shoulder harness, a vane hingedly connected to the shoulder harness and adapted to be folded against the body, a portion of the vanebeing curved outwardly, means for swinging the vane into an unright position when'released, and a collapsible parachute operatively connected to the shoulder harness and adapted to be received within the outwardly curved portion of the vane when it is in a collapsed condition and the vane is folded downwardly. 12. A device of the character described, including shoulder harness, a vane hingedly 5 connected to the shoulder harness and adapted to be folded against the body, said-vane being formed with an outwardly curved portion,- means for swinging the vane upwardly when released,"a lower collapsible parachute pendent lapsible air conduit extending upwardly from the lower parachute, .a ring surrounding the air conduit, and an upper collapsible parachute adapted to be arranged above the 15 air conduit to be acted upon by the air passfrom the shoulder harness, a coling upwardly through the same,- said upper parachute being connected to the and the upper parachute and air conduit eing adapted to be collapsed and received within the outwardly curved portion of the vane 20 when the latter is swung downwardly against the body.

In testimony whereof I have signed iny name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

a p v ADOLPH RANSON.

. Witnesses'r GEORGE DELroRGE, FELIX A. DANDOIS. 

